William P. Lauder, 32

Origins Natural Resources Inc., General manager

Where is William P. now?

It's not easy being a corporate scion. But William P. Lauder, grandson of Estee and heir to the family's cosmetics empire, is growing accustomed to the role. As general manager for Origins Natural Resources Inc., he helped engineer a splashy entry for the company's newest brand.

Since it debuted in the fall of 1990, Origins' environmentally friendly packaging and new age formulations have brought the Estee Lauder Cos. a hip new collection of customers. Department stores continue to sign up the line, and more sites are being selected around the country for the chain of Origins retail stores.

Still, there are the inevitable critiques from the boss, who happens to be Leonard Lauder, William's father.

"I doubt there are many other people in the company who get calls from my father at home at 11 o'clock at night," says the University of Pennsylvania graduate. "I've always known he would be more demanding of me than of anyone else."

Although in his youth he talked about being a pilot or running a hotel, it was fairly clear that Mr. Lauder would be part of the family business. His younger brother opted out and is a venture capitalist in California. Mr. Lauder held out for a few years, doing a stint in the executive training program at R.H. Macy & Co. He joined the filial fold in 1986 and spent several years in sales and marketing at various company divisions before heading Origins.

In keeping with the family spirit, both he and Origins are active in charity.

"I don't take sole credit for anything," Mr. Lauder says. "I like to see myself as the general manager of a baseball team, whose job it is to put together the most talented group of people he can."